PEDAGOGY THROUGH SOCCER UP GDL PARTICIPATES IN 3RD INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAS OCCURRENTES SUMMIT

PEDAGOGY THROUGH SOCCER UP GDL PARTICIPATES IN 3RD INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAS OCCURRENTES SUMMIT

“To teach is to share”-Gustavo Méndez, student, School of Pedagogy.

Zapopan, Jalisco, July 17.- The Pedagogy through Soccer Project was created by the School of Pedagogy at Universidad Panamericana, together with scholars from over 40 universities in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

SCHOLAS was proposed by Pope Francis as a means to create spaces for cultural encounters and educational change through sports, arts, and technology. The initiative is world-wide and includes programs, actions, and follow up.

Pedagogy through Soccer is a project begun two years ago by Abraham Mariscal, student of Educational Psychology and professor Pedro Beltrán. The program seeks to form boys and girls in underprivileged circumstances in the social competencies they need for life. The program is intended, as well, to help these children develop their character through sports and competition.

The program is run in the Colli region of the city of Guadalajara. The area has a population of around 118 thousand inhabitants; 39 thousand of these are children, and approximately one thousand do not attend school regularly or are illiterate.

Gustavo Méndez, student of the School of Pedagogy at UP used to be a professional soccer player. At the height of his career, he decided to change the path of his life and focus more on social commitment. He has always been interested in knowing more about different ways of learning, so he is now fulfilling one more of his dreams. Gustavo plays with the UP Panthers soccer team, he is an undergraduate in the school of Pedagogy, and he coordinates the Pedagogy through Soccer project.

Over 50 students have participated in this project, run jointly by the School of Pedagogy and the Department of Social Work. The students participate and commit to this initiative, which runs under the principles of Service Learning. Through social work, students learn from their contact with the community, and discover conditions very different from what they know. This helps them develop a personal and social conscience.

The plans are to expand support centers and create other social projects. The invitation is for the student community to join similar causes. Their service will contribute to their personal growth, and, more importantly, help others.

"Get out of the temples to go find the people who need you; do not expect them to come to you." -Pope Francis